Christ is Risen from the Dead.What does this mean to us?Is He Risen Indeed for us as the sole proprietor of our new life in Him?Is He dwelling in us and lifting us upandinto His Union with the Father?

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. (Phi. iv. 4, 5)The Apostle exhorted us in the end of the preceding Epistle that we should reserve all things to Christ, the true Judge; but, lest we should be overcome by the long delay, he said that He was about to come in a very little while. The Lord, he said, is at hand.What we consider to be a long time is but the twinkling of an eye in relation to God’s eternity. So a long time with us can be a short time with God. And thus we must live in the day, always anticipating Christ’s immanent return to Judge the Quick and the Dead. The Lord Jesus Christ is always at hand, and thus we must live in the day and ask Him to judge us now, lest we be judged in a very unusual and unpredicted way on Judgment Day.But the Apostle in the words of the text teaches three things (1) he exhorts to inward holiness; (2) to honest conversation ; (3) he subjoins the reason.

Inward holiness consists in two things: firstly, that evil affections should be renovated; and, secondly, that good affections should be obtained. S. Bernard said that holy affection makes the saint, whilst evil affection is to rejoice in the world.

First, we must renovate or repair passions that have been bent on evil affection. Thus we must pray that the Lord will transform evil and sinful affections into good and noble ones. In order to do so affectively, we must contemplate the nature of good affections. Good affections are found in persistent meditation upon God’s nature, as what alone is true, good, and beautiful. Thus we must look into God’s essence and then supplicate His mercy in obtaining the effectual means of fulfilling His will through the infusion of His Divine virtues.

But there is an evil joy of the world, as in evil things, in vanities, in base pleasures. The joy in evil things is to rejoice in wickedness; the joy of vanities is to rejoice in riches, which are vain; and the joy in base pleasures is to rejoice in wantonness.